Welcome back to Woman Crush Wednesday! This week’s roundup includes a lot of babely women taking charge of a whole spectrum of reproductive rights, from baby prevention to baby care. And if you’re asking yourself what a uterus has to do with environmentalism — well, you’ve come to the right place. Preventing unplanned pregnancies with safe, affordable birth control is not only a highly effective way to address our world’s booming population growth and carbon emissions, but it also gives women more control of their lives and improves their economic opportunities. Talk about a win-win!
Here’s who we’ve been crushing on this week:
- Virginia Smith, the gynecologist-cum-jewelry-designer who’s made her own IUD-inspired earrings that are now being showcased in a Colorado battle for reproductive rights. Come June, an initiative providing Colorado women with long-acting reversible contraceptives like IUDs will lose funding. A proposed bill might keep it afloat, but it’s being hotly debated for the usual silly reasons — i.e., lawmakers not wanting women to control their own uteri. Watch Eve Andrews, our living editor and resident IUD enthusiast, MacGyver her own earrings to show support for affordable access to birth control with this IUDIY tutorial. (Grist)
- Speaking of birth control, I’m all about women taking ownership of their sexuality. That’s why I’m also crushing on Meika Hollender, who co-founded the condom startup Sustain with her father, Jeffrey (they chatted with us about their new venture in October). Not only are their condoms vegan and Fair Trade, Hollender wants to do away with all the dumb, antiquated negative perceptions associated with a woman who carries her own condoms. It’s not slutty — it’s just smart. (Elle)
A grab-bag assortment, if you will, of Sustain condoms.Grist / Amelia Bates
- Sarah Seltzer, editor at large at Flavorwire, and Meredith Clark, an MSNBC reporter, whose new Tumblr, “Having It Some,” crowdsources readers for the maternity, paternity, or family leave policies at their own workplaces. Seltzer and Clark want to make maternity and paternity leave policies more transparent, and draw attention to which workplaces across the country are screwing over new moms and dads. In one of only three (!) countries in the world without federally mandated paid maternity leave, this is a big deal. (TakePart)
- This group of 6-year-old Girl Scouts who invented an automatic page turner out of Legos for those who need a little extra help reading. The budding engineers demonstrated the project in front of President Obama last week at the White House Science Fair. (The New York Times)
- Kelly Carlisle, a Navy veteran who founded her Bay Area farm, Acta Non Verba, so at-risk youth can grow, sell, and profit from their own produce. (MUNCHIES)
- Swedish pop-music and futuristic fashion icon, Robyn, who announced plans to launch a festival in Sweden with workshops on electronic music, programming, 3D printing and the like for young girls interested in STEM fields. Fembots unite! (The Verge)
Stay tuned for next week’s roundup!
